Society Wives (24 page)

“Why do you keep calling it fake?”

“I mean really. Why even bother drinking decaf. What's the point?”

“I like the taste and I'm trying to pull back on the caffeine because of the baby.”

“Whateva!” Frannie waved away Ryan's explanation. “Anyways, you thought of any names yet?”

“No. I have plenty of time for that. Right now I'm just trying to focus on taking care of myself. I want this pregnancy to go well.”

“Well, I think you should name her after her grandma. Ha!”

“I bet you would, Ma.” Ryan finished off the last bit of coffee and stood. “Thanks. I'll call you later.”

Ryan wasn't ready to go home, but with all the nervous energy spinning around inside of her, she found it hard to continue to sit still. She got in the car and pulled away from her mother's house, but a few blocks down, she pulled over to get her nerves together. She was in no rush to face Anderson, but knew that if she took too long, it would only make things worse.

Flutters took flight in her stomach as she pulled into their driveway. Anderson's Maserati was sitting in front of the garage, which meant he had been out since he came home—probably looking for her.

Slowly, Ryan got out of the car and took her time getting to the door. It swung open just as she reached it and Anderson stood there with fire in his eyes. He snatched her inside with one strong pull.

“What took you so long?”

“I…I was just finishing up with Mom.”

“I told you I'd be home today. You should have been here when I arrived.”

“You say a lot of things, but don't always do them.”

Anderson scowled at her. Ryan didn't back down, but inside those flutters sloshed around in her stomach and chest.

Anderson stormed off to the back of the house. Ryan followed him because she knew she was expected to. He snatched the remote from the side table, plopped down and turned on the TV.

Without looking her way, he continued talking, “What were you doing in the city?”

“I…” Ryan was at a loss for words at first. She almost forgot about telling him she was the one who saw him with her own eyes. She could have kicked herself. She would have never said that to him if they were face to face. “I wanted to see a show.”

“I told you how I feel about you going out there without me.”

“I was bored,” Ryan whined. She was still standing. “You leave me here for weeks at a time. You won't let me work. You won't let me go anywhere. Besides my mother, I have nobody to talk to.”

“You don't need to work. You're my wife. And you have Nadalia, Pearson and Vonnie to talk to.”

“They all have jobs. They're business owners who lead busy lives. They're not available all of the time. Besides,” Ryan dropped her head, “I'm not even sure if they like me that much. So, I get lonely.”

Anderson looked over at her for the first time, but just for a moment. She thought she saw him soften a little.

“And what's this crap about some tabloid?”

Ryan went into the kitchen and pulled out the magazine. She took it back to the room, dropped it on the couch next to where Anderson sat and stepped back. “That's the same woman I saw you with at the restaurant.”

Anderson picked up the paper, scanned it and tossed it aside, laughing.

“What's so funny?” Ryan was getting frustrated.

“I told you not to believe that silly tabloid stuff.”

“I saw you with her.” Ryan raised her voice. Anderson's neck snapped in her direction. She adjusted her tone. “Tabloid or not, what am I supposed to think?” Anderson's eyes were still locked on her, but she pressed forward, determined to stand her ground. “I'm tired of this, Anderson.” She waited for his response.

Anderson drew in a deep breath. She was expecting the thunder of his harsh words, but instead he began explaining.

“I'm not messing around with her. Those pictures are from the set. Somebody on the crew must have taken them and sold them for a nice price. You'll see when the movie comes out. The only reason we were in New York that day was to do a photo shoot for the promo materials. We had just enough time to do the shoot, have lunch and get back on the plane to head to the next location. That's why I didn't bother telling you because I wouldn't have had the time to see you anyway.”

Anderson got up, went to the kitchen, got a beer and sat back down.

Ryan wanted to believe him and since this was the first time he ever offered any kind of explanation, she decided that it would be sufficient. She thought it was ironic that she had given the same story to the girls when Nadalia told her about seeing the tabloid at dinner.

“Well you could have at least let me know.”

“Next time I will.”

Anderson took sips of his beer in silence as he watched the screen, flipping channels.

She loved Anderson and despite the fact that he wasn't perfect, she still felt lucky to be with him. This baby would help change things. She just knew it. Ryan was also relying on showing a little more firmness. He hadn't flipped out on her as she expected him to. Maybe if she did it a little more often, things would get a little better and she'd have more say.

“Andy.”

Instead of responding he looked over at her.

“I want you to be around more. No more coming and going as you please without at least letting me know where you are. That's not fair to me.”

“Anything else, Ryan?” he said sarcastically.

“Yes.” Anderson turned to face her. “I just want you to know that I'm fed up with the way things have been. If things don't change. I'll…I'm going to have to…”

“What, Ryan?”

“Leave…” Ryan was proud of her audaciousness—scared, but proud.

Anderson studied her. She became uncomfortable under his gaze. Then he reached for her, pulled her close and kissed her. That same spark that ignited between them on the steps months back had returned.

Ryan kissed him back. Anderson crawled on top of her and squeezed her small breasts in his hands, pulled up her shirt, and took her nipples in his mouth.

Ryan felt like she had gained some power. She tugged at his belt, unzipped his pants, released his erection and massaged it. Then, wiggling free from under him, she knelt down in front of him on the couch and took his rigidness into her mouth, stroking him until he called out her name. She rose just before he reached his peak and sat facing him. He guided himself inside and with the power she felt, she matched him thrust for thrust until his face twisted in sweet agony and he released himself, grunting in staccato. He kept pumping until Ryan's muscles twitched and she cried out in ecstasy.

Even in her pleasurable exhaustion, she felt like she had gained some ground again and wondered if her firmness was a turn on for him. She also knew that if she said she would leave, she'd have to actually be willing to do it in order for Anderson to become a true believer.

Chapter 37

Vonnie

Vonnie didn't know whether to be scared or angry. She hadn't seen nor heard from Mike since she left to go to dinner with the girls the evening before. Dialing his number once again and praying that he would answer, Vonnie walked circles around herself. Now the calls were going straight to voicemail.

“Mike!” she yelled. “At least call me!” she screamed as if he could possibly hear her.

One the verge of tears, Vonnie went to her room and threw herself on the bed. This wasn't like Mike at all. He'd never just disappear this way. Vonnie's mind was a frenzy of wild thoughts. She prayed to keep herself sane.

“Lord, please don't let my husband be dead. I don't know what I would do without him. And if he isn't dead, forgive me for trying to kill him when he finally walks through that door!”

Vonnie's cell phone rang and she dived over the bed to retrieve it from the nightstand. “Hello!” she said, hoping it was Mike and then realized she hadn't even bothered to look to see who was calling. It was a wrong number and Vonnie felt like tossing the phone across the room.

Vonnie imagined Mike stranded along the side of the road, hurt, unable to get to his cell phone to call for help. For a moment she thought about getting into her car and riding around to see if she could find him. Maybe he had been car jacked and the thugs took everything, his wallet, cell phone, car, and all of his money. Then she thought that he would have walked somewhere and called for help and would be home by now.

Then she imagined him lying asleep next to another woman, intoxicated by a night of wild sex, which made him forget his wife, the time and his wits. Then Vonnie thought, what if he was with another woman? Would that mean the end of them? Did he love her? He couldn't love her if he was reckless enough to spend the entire night with her without even trying to cover up his philandering ways. Would she be willing to leave? They had so much history and he had never been unfaithful before. Should she give him a second chance? She couldn't turn off her love for him like a light switch.

Vonnie grumbled, filling the room with the sounds of her frustrations. She was running out of possibilities. Each thought made her heart pump a little faster.

“Okay, girl,” she said to herself. “Get it together. Something had to happen.” Vonnie looked around the bed and picked up her phone. She couldn't recall him telling her where he was going so she wasn't sure who or where to call first. She decided to start with his friends and make her way to his family. She dialed Pearson's number so she could speak to Niles. There was no answer. Vonnie knew he couldn't have been with Anderson because he was out of town. Sage was her only option. She dialed Nadalia. No answer again.

Vonnie ran back to her room to get her iPad. She looked up the numbers to all of the hospitals in the area and called each of them. None of them had Michael Howard in their care. She even tried calling 911 to see if they received any reports for fatal accidents in Nassau and had to bite her tongue to keep from cursing the operator, for not having answers to her ambiguous questions. Vonnie knew she was reaching, but her desperation drove her to the edge of insanity.

Mike's family would be her last resort. Since she didn't have any of their telephone numbers, Vonnie grabbed her purse and ran to the kitchen to get her car keys. She knew where his aunt and cousins lived. They weren't exactly close, but Vonnie didn't care. Nor did she care about the gossiping that would be sure to follow her visit because she needed to find her husband. She prayed that she'd find him alive.

Vonnie made it to the Grand Central Parkway when her phone rang. It was one her sister, Nadine's friends.

“Hey, Trisha! What's up?” Vonnie answered wondering why she was calling.
Please don
'
t let something be wrong with Nadine.
“Is everything okay?”

“That's what I called to ask you.”

“Huh! What do you mean?”

“Mike and Andrew are here.”

“Here, where? Your job!” Vonnie almost slammed on the brakes right in the middle of the parkway. Trisha worked at Queens Courts as a Correction Officer.

“Mike came to bail Andrew out!”

Vonnie felt her insides grow warm with the slow heat of anger. Mike was alive, which was great, but what was he doing bailing his career-criminal brother out of jail when they had huge financial problems at home?

“No! Both of them are in the cell!”

Vonnie felt a tight squeeze in her chest. “Jail.” She was barely audible. Her breathing made it difficult to speak for several moments.

“Vonnie! Are you still there?”

Vonnie was still trying to catch her breath and now tears fell as she imagined Mike in a dank cell alongside real criminals.

“Vonnie!” Trisha called her again.

“What…what happened?” What could Mike have possibly done to be sent to jail?”

“I'm about to get the full story. I just got on duty. I called you as soon as I saw them.”

“Did you call Nadine?”

“Don't you worry, baby girl. You're the first call I made. No one will hear this from me.”

“Thank you, Trish. I'm on my way.” Vonnie picked up her speed.

“If you come now there's not much you can do besides sit and wait for him to be arraigned.”

“I can't see him?”

“No! Go home and try to relax. I'll keep you posted and when it's close to the time for him to be arraigned, I'll call you to come.”

Vonnie groaned. “There's absolutely no way I can see him?”

“Sorry, hon. No can do.”

“Okay. I'll go somewhere and grab a bite to eat. Any idea how long it could take?”

“Anytime from now to practically midnight and that's if he even gets arraigned today. It can be anytime from now to Monday morning, depending on how crowded it is.”

“Are you serious?”

“I'm afraid so. If he has a decent lawyer, there's a chance he'll push to get him arraigned sooner but there are no guarantees.”

Vonnie remained silent, not knowing what to say.

“Listen, Vonnie. Try to chill out for a while. Let me go in and find out as much as I can and I will call you back. That way, you'll have a better idea of what to do.”

“Okay,” Vonnie said. Her entire spirit had deflated. She felt like she had been run over by a truck and hadn't slept for days.

“I'll call you back as soon as possible. Okay?”

“Yeah.”

Vonnie got off the parkway at the next exit and headed to the diner with all the blue decorations on the corner of Francis Lewis and Horace Harding Expressway. She didn't have an appetite, so she sat and nursed a few cups of tea waiting for Trisha's call. When her phone rang, she grabbed it with trembling hands. It slipped from her grasp, bobbing in the air a few times before she caught a hold of it and answered.

“Trish!” Vonnie sounded as if she were out of breath.